


i won't say i'm in love

by wrnkledtime



Series: a blip in the eyes of infinity [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Best Friends to Lovers, Costume Party, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Group texts, Humor, Lots of kissing, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, bc i can't help myself, but they're both too stubborn to admit it, good shit tbh, group friendships, halloween party, hercules references, these two have had crushes on each other since forever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-04-08
Packaged: 2018-05-29 05:03:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6360649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrnkledtime/pseuds/wrnkledtime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>i won’t say i’m in love: “i recently dumped my ex and i just realized that he still has something really, really important of mine that he took away from me during our relationship - i need to get it back right now immediately and you’re helping me sneak into his house bc you don’t know it yet, but this has everything to do with you” au</p><p>aka the one where killian and emma are best friends, who have pined for one another since the beginning of time, and they get uninvited to neal’s lame ass halloween party (that they didn’t wanna go to anyways), but then emma realizes that neal still has her good luck charm and she wants it back for an upcoming exam, so of course she’s going to drag killian along with her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. i won't say i'm in love: pt. i

_Orange is a good color on him,_  Emma muses to herself as Killian shifts in his sleep. She stands in the doorway of her room, facing her bed which her best friend’s body is sprawled atop on. Under the glow of the obnoxiously festive jack-o-lantern lights that Mary Margaret had strewn across her tiny apartment, the entirety of her bedroom is doused in a soft spill of orange. The color reflects off of the glossy pages of her psychology textbook, bounces off of the arguably beige walls, and settles against Killian’s skin in a soft caress.

She shakes herself out of her daze and pads back into her bedroom as Killian shifts again, mumbling something incoherent under his breath as his right arm lashes out and smacks against her side of the mattress. She busies herself with collecting her dirty laundry off of her bedroom floor along the way, side-eyeing him as his nose scrunches up endearingly and his eyebrows furrow before his eyes squeeze shut; she knows then that he’s coming out of sleep just as quickly as he had fallen into it.

He pries his eyes open, blinking once before turning to where his hand had fallen, lying empty when he had expected to capture some of Emma’s warmth. He frowns at the empty space where her body had been merely a few moments ago before he catches her shadow. She’s bent over the front of her desk, the side of her profile to him and he catches sight of a pile of clothes squashed against her chest. He knows, undoubtedly, that she’s piling them onto her desk chair that she hardly uses, because she doesn’t have the patience for folding or hanging things in her closet.

“You’re cleaning?” he teases, his voice coming out gruff with sleep and tinged with a sarcastic tone of surprise. 

Emma rolls her eyes, smiling to herself before turning to face him, her hands set on her hips and a glare settled onto her features as amusement dances around in her eyes, “And you’re awake. The world’s a little topsy-turvy for the both of us this fine evening, buddy.”

Killian snorts at that as he turns on his side to face her. He reaches out and snatches her pillow from her side of the unkept bed and he snuggles against it, propping his chin up against the fabric and smiling that devastating smile of his that has her wanting to smack him and kiss him all at once.

“A man needs his sleep, love.” He banters. “You can’t take away someone’s first love from them, that’s just cruel.”

“Yeah, well,” Emma begins before she launches herself onto her bed, landing by Killian’s side and nearly flopping onto him as he rolls away just in time, protesting wordlessly. “Everyone’s first love becomes sleep when it’s your last year as a college student and you’re trying to pass all of your exams.”

He hums noncommittally, adjusting to her returned presence and settling his head onto her shoulder. She reaches up and sifts her hand through his hair, allowing her fingers to linger and scratch against his scalp, suppressing a pleased grin as he lets out something akin to a purr. She toys with his bangs, which are overgrown and in desperate need of a trim, before pulling away and skimming the pads of her fingertips against the flat of her braided hair.

Killian pokes an eye open, frowning up at her through his dark, sooty lashes as he catches her worrying on her bottom lip. He pushes off her shoulder, rolling onto his stomach and tucking his elbows underneath him. Emma sighs, avoiding his contemplative gaze before turning to him questioningly.

“You’re going to be fine, Emma,” he reassures, and she’s once again struck by how he always seems to know what’s going on inside her brain, how he always knows what to say when she doesn’t quite know how to put her own thoughts and worries into words. Her gaze roams over his face and a smile tugs at his lips, the expression in his eyes softening marginally as he stretches forward to leave a peck at her cheek. “You’re an open book, love, remember?”

Emma feels herself flush at his touch and his words, and she wills herself to not show the effect that he has on her. “I just feel so unprepared,” Emma moans, throwing her arm over her eyes dramatically. Her heart hammers in her chest and she swallows her nerves, both because of Killian and her upcoming exam. “It’s a hundred question exam, plus two essays all in the span of an hour and a half. Who the hell came up with that? Seriously, I need to know. I just wanna meet up with them and talk.”

Killian tugs her arm off of her face, the pads of her fingers warm and gentle on her skin, and he gives her a stern look. “Mhm, you’d slam dunk them into a very small space if you ever get the chance to just talk with the mastermind behind your academic downfall,” he teases with an arch of his eyebrow. “Regardless,” he continues, his tone softening and his gaze unwavering. “You’ll do fine. You’ve been studying for weeks and anyone who knows you knows that you’re going to kick this exam in the arse.”

His gaze is steady on hers as she narrows her eyes at him, searching for a giveaway in his reassurances but finds nothing. For the bordering five years that she’s known him, he’s never really lied to her, and she feels a flutter in the pit of her stomach at the glow of admiration and belief in his eyes. Still, she maintains eye contact with him as his gaze doesn’t falter, and she knows that he has the same thing in mind at that moment just as she does.

A few seconds into their staring contest, Emma’s phone starts to buzz somewhere beneath her mess of textbooks and strewn notes, and her heart jumps in surprise at the suddenness of the intruding sound, yet neither of them break eye contact.

“Your phone’s getting rather busy there,” Killian says unblinkingly as her phone continues to buzz with an influx of messages.

“It’s probably just Ruby,” Emma reassures, speaking lowly. “You know how she is. It more than likely isn’t anything important.”

“You sure about that?” Killian questions tauntingly as her phone continues to buzz annoyingly. “Whatever she’s trying to get in contact with you about must have some kind of relevance if she’s sending that many messages.”

“Hmm,” Emma hums. “I know your moves, Jones. Have some faith in me.”

“Oh, don’t worry, darling. You know I do,” Killian replies with a small smile. After a moment, his eyes flash with recognition and he claps his hands together, causing them both to blink simultaneously.

Emma groans in annoyance, falling back onto the mattress, “What is it? I was so close to beating your record, I could feel it.”

“My apologies, love,” Killian replies teasingly as he searches for her phone. When he finds it, he turns back around to face her and joins her by laying on his stomach. “I was just thinking - Ruby only ever gets spammy with her messages, like, really spammy, when there’s a party. And then I remembered that tomorrow’s Halloween and that everyone must be headed to that party that we got uninvited to.”

Emma props herself onto an elbow and frowns at Killian, “What party?”

He fiddles with her phone between his fingers before pressing his thumb down onto the home button, and cheers as her home screen, a picture of them from their freshman year of college, flashes onto the screen.

Emma gapes at him before snatching away her phone, grumbling under her breath as Killian cries out a “hey!” in protest.

“I told you to remove your thumb print,” Emma chastises him before she takes in the notifications icon for her messages. Her eyes nearly bug out of her head as she sees the number 242 encircled with red. “What the hell,” she mutters.

“Shove off, my love, you trust me wholeheartedly with your phone. Otherwise you would’ve removed my thumb print yourself ages ago,” Killian teases. “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, tonight’s Neal’s aka wanker of the century’s annual Halloween party.”

Emma winces as she scrolls through the stream of messages from her group chat with the girls from their group, the majority of them being from Ruby, and she sighs wearily when she sees that Killian is right.

Killian rolls onto his back, mimicking Emma’s position atop the mattress before nuzzling into her side, scooting close to her so he can catch a glimpse of the messages. Emma’s scrolling slows down as she remembers that previously to Ruby’s spam, the group chat’s conversation had consisted of merciless teasing, on the girls’ part, towards Emma regarding the “crush that she’s had on Killian since forever”.

 

 **Ruby:**   _EMMA, R U COMING TO THE PARTY?? PLS PLS PLS COME, IDC IF UR UNINVITED THERE WILL B 2 MANY PPL ANYWAYS NO1 WILL NOTICE!!_

 **MM:** _RUBY, NO. Neal’s always there to greet people plus one of his minion’s will surely notice eventually._

 **Elsa:**   _i thought we must never name him ever again_

 **MM:**   _Sorry, sorry, you know who I mean._

 **Ruby:**   _PLEASEEE, it’s a costume party anyways_

 **Ruby:**   _she can wear the matching costumes i got her & killian from the costume dept & no1 will know its her!! it’ll work!!_

 **Ruby:**   _WHAT HAPPENED TO HAVING HOPE_

 

“I saw my name,” Killian says gleefully from beside her. Emma jumps, reaching over to smack him across his shoulder before she pointedly makes a show of dimming her phone’s brightness and turning away from him. Killian whines, nosing her back and causing Emma to laugh. He reluctantly gives in, instead reaching for the end of her braid and toying with it, his presence warm and comforting against her back as he curves his body around hers.

 

 **Belle:**   _Wait, wasn’t Killian uninvited also?_

 **Ruby:**   _omg was he rly r u forreal rn_

 **Mulan:**   _i heard it was because neal knew that emma’s been in love with killian since like, forever._

 **Ruby:**   _omg_

 **Ruby:** _THIS IS SO FUNNY_

 **Ruby:** _LIT EVRY1 IN THE WORLD BUT EMMA & KILLIAN KNOW THT THEY LOVE EACH OTHER_

 **MM:** _I saw him on the invite list for the event on Facebook, but when I checked again earlier today he was gone from it_

 **Elsa:**   _maybe he removed himself???_

 **Belle:**   _Maybe! Merlin was telling me how Killian was telling the guys that he didn’t wanna go to the party anymore because you know who has “bad form” and he didn’t wanna be seen at the party of the guy who “broke his Swan’s heart”._

 **Mulan:** _OOOH_

 **Mulan:**   _MERLIN AND BELLE SITTIN’ IN A TREE_

 **Belle:**   _I THOUGHT RUBY WAS THE IMMATURE ONE OUT OF THE TWO OF YOU, MULAN._

 **Mulan:**   _K-I-S-S-I-N-G_

 **Belle:**   _More like talking about literature during the medieval times, goodbye._

 **Ruby:** _tht’s basically nerd for sex_

 **MM:**   _YOU TALKED TO MERLIN AGAIN??_

 **MM:**   _OMG, BELLE_

 **Belle:**   _Omg, enough._

 **Ruby:**   _ugh, all of this angst & pining. I can’t deal_

 **MM:**   _But Emma has an exam to study for, anyways. She’s probably not gonna wanna go._

 **Ruby:**   _KILLIAN CAN TALK HER INTO COMING_

 **Ruby:**  omg 

 **Ruby:**   _not coming /that/ way_

 **Ruby _:_** _but he has full permission to have her come /that/ way too_

 **Ruby:** _if ya know what i’m sayin_

 

Emma chokes on her own spit suddenly, her eyes going wide and a tangled laugh coming out from between her lips as she raises a hand to muffle the sound. Killian peaks at her, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips at her semi-silent laughter before he raises an eyebrow teasingly.

“Interesting conversation?” he asks. 

Emma shrugs nonchalantly, schooling her features and hoping that the flush against the pale skin of her neck isn’t evident, “You know how the girls can be.”

Killian’s eyes light up and a smug expression takes over his features, “Oooh, you lot talk about me in your group chat? Good things, I hope.”

Emma hums as she rolls her eyes, squirming underneath his weight as he shuffles towards her, first placing his head against her chest before readjusting his position.  _He’s like an overgrown child,_  Emma thinks to herself. A part of her knows that she should be annoyed, but she can’t help but find it utterly endearing.

Killian changes his position again, this time squeezing his arm over her shoulders and beneath her neck, and she huffs out a breath of annoyance as he lets out a chuckle. She realizes that the screen of her phone, despite its complete dimness, would be visible to him at the angle that he’s at, so she promptly turns in his arms and faces him, propping her phone between their faces as she raises an eyebrow at him while he pouts. 

“I told you, Jones, I know all of your moves.” Emma gloats.

Killian huffs as he fishes for his phone from his pocket, his arm bending slightly due to the awkward angle, “Fine, I’ll just talk about you with the boys, then.”

Emma lets out a laugh before parotting, “Good things I hope,”

Killian winks from above both of their phone screens, “Always, love.”

He promptly starts playing on his phone, his eyebrows furrowed slightly in concentration. A few strands of his hair, which had been ruffled up from his power nap, stray onto his forehead, and Emma resists the urge to reach out and slide them back into place with her fingers.

 _Snap out of it, Emma,_  she thinks to herself before she silently curses Ruby for putting all sorts of thoughts in her head. She’d thought about it before, of course she had, but now that she’s realized her true feelings for Killian and now that she’s gotten Neal off of her back, there’s nothing to distract her from wondering what it’ll feel like to mold her body against his, what his skin would feel like when it’s slick with sweat yet soft and supple beneath her hands, what sorts of sounds he would make, really make, when she tugs on his hair and scratches at his back.

Emma blinks once, realizing that she had been staring, and she shakes herself out of her daze before reluctantly returning to her phone screen to catch up on the conversation.

 

 **Elsa:**   _omg ruby_  

 **MM:** _RUBY, NO_

 **Ruby:** _RUBY YES!!_

 **Mulan:**   _YESSS, EMMA GET IT_

 **Elsa:** _i bet the sex would be great_

 **MM:**   _What has this conversation turned into, but I concur._

 **Ruby:**   _thx mom_

 **Elsa:**   _she deserves some good sex after sleeping with a lousy rat_

 **Belle:**   _Oh my god, Elsa._

 **Ruby:**   _i’m so glad tht we all agree on this v important piece of info_

 **Mulan:**   _emma and killian would have such hot sex, i am yelling_

 **Mulan:**   _i’m repulsed by straight couples having sex bc wtf are penises even_

 **Mulan:**   _but_

 **Mulan:** _i’d wanna watch that_

 **Mulan:** _only if it’s emma and killian though_

 **Elsa:**   _oh my god_

 **Ruby:**   _OK FORREAL_

 **Ruby:** _all that angst & tension_

 **Ruby:**   _they’ve had sexual tension since the beg of time omg there would b so much_

 **Ruby:**   _glorious tension_

 **Elsa:**   _there would be so much foreplay_

 **Ruby:**   _ugh yes_

 **Ruby:**   _killian has such nice arms imagine them like, bulging_

 **Belle:**   _Okay, yes. The arms._

 **MM:**   _BELLE_

 **Belle:**   _WHAT, don’t give me that. You can’t deny that they’re nice to look at._

 **Ruby:** _they’re v shapely & they look nice & firm_

 **Mulan:** _speaking of firm_

 **Mulan:** _emma’s ass_

 **Mulan:** _ACTUALLY BOTH OF THEIR ASSES_

 **Ruby:**   _yes omg_

 **Ruby:**   _they both have fantastic asses_

 **Ruby:**   _their kids would have the best asses the world has ever seen_

 **Belle:**   _What am I reading_

 **MM:** _I leave my phone for two minutes, goodness gracious._

 **Elsa:** _what the hap is fuckening_

 **Ruby:**   _& EMMA’S LEGS_

 **Mulan:** _emma’s legs_

 **Mulan:** _omg yes_

 **Elsa:** _i’m dying_

 **Ruby:** _just imagine all of the_

 **Ruby:** _exertion_

 **Mulan:** _god damn_

 **Ruby:**   _doesn’t killian sing_

 **Ruby:**   _his moans would be like music_

 **Elsa:**   _both of their moans would harmonize together so nicely_

 **Elsa:**   _and create the sweetest of music_

 **Belle:**   _ELSA_

 **Mulan:**   _OK ME_

 **Elsa:**   _LOL`_

 **MM:** _THIS WASN’T A GROUP SEX CHAT LAST TIME I CHECKED, GUYS_

 

“Emma,” she hears Killian’s voice suddenly, and she blinks once, twice, before registering how hot she suddenly feels. She adjusts her attention to Killian, his gaze expectant and his eyes filled with mirth. She realizes then that he’s propped himself up into his elbow, the side of his head resting in his own hand, and her gaze involuntarily shifts to the taut skin of his bicep that fills out from the cap of his sleeve.

“Uhh, huh?” Emma mumbles, and she willfully ignores Killian’s amused grin as his gaze follows hers while she traces her way back to his face using the contours of his body.

“You’ve gone red, love,” he states, and her masked expression quickly morphs into a scowl. 

“Shut up,” she manages without sputtering too much, her cheeks heating up under the weight of his gaze.

“What’s the conversation about?” he asks curiously, his eyes still alight and dancing with amusement.

“Nothing,” Emma lies immediately. Killian raises an eyebrow in response to her. “I mean,” she continues slowly. “It’s just that - Belle’s been talking to Merlin a lot more lately and everyone was, um, teasing her about, you know, things.”

“Things,” Killian repeats, his expression void of any curiosity and his gaze steady. “You mean sex?”

“I -” Emma stutters out of surprise.

“Emma, we’re adults. We’ve talked about sex, you and I. We’ve all had sex, I think I can tell when a conversation veers towards sex because -”

“Yes, God, you dumbass. They were talking about sex.”

“The conversation always comes up when -”

“When you’re around,” Emma finishes just as he does. “Yes, yes, I know.” She rolls her eyes at his salacious grin and no, she most definitely is not feeling anything as she squirms under his gaze. He purses his lips then, contorting his face into a smolder that does absolutely nothing to Emma, nope, and she reaches for a decorative pillow from the head of her bed before chucking it at him. Killian lets out a chuckle, deflecting the throw just in time as pulls himself up and off of the bed.

Emma rolls over to face him, watching as he stretches his arms over his head and twisting his torso around. She follows the contours of his body and lets her eyes linger on the tan and tautness of the exposed skin of his torso as his t-shirt rides up with his every movement.

“I have to pee,” he states, hopping up and down once before leaning over the bed, planting the palms of his hands atop the mattress as he presses a swift kiss to Emma’s cheek. “Don’t miss me too much!” He exclaims as he promptly spins on his heel and makes his way out of her bedroom door and towards the bathroom.

“You pee in like, five seconds,” Emma responds just as he disappears around the corner, and he hears his muffled acknowledgement before huffing out a heavy breath of annoyance. She breathes deeply - in and out, in and out - several times in hopes of getting rid of the warmth and the flutter in the pit of her stomach. She sits up, shuffling backwards to rest her head against the headboard of the bed. Her legs stretch out in front of her and she wiggles her toes, ridding her body of the leftover tingling sensations from the softness of Killian’s touch. She sighs, overwhelmed and baffled by the effect that Killian has had on her since her breakup with Neal.

While the girls knew the truth behind her dumping Neal, she’ll never tell Killian that it was because of him - that somewhere in the back of her mind, it had always been him. Her crush on Killian had blossomed and sprouted out of control over the years that she knew him, and she found something new to love about him every day.

He cares and loves so deeply, he’s so open with his affections towards not only her, but the rest of their friends. He cocky and flirtatious, yet loyal and ridiculously respectful. He’s everything that Emma didn’t even know that she wanted, and she wants to drown in him.

For the five years that they’ve known each other, she’s convinced herself that her crush on him was nothing more than some sort of physical attraction - because she couldn’t deny that she found him totally and completely attractive, and until he came along she didn’t even know she had a type - but it’s always, always been him. There’s something more behind the attraction, something akin to curiosity and an eager willingness to allow herself to be loved by him.

Killian walks back into her room then, and Emma looks up as his shoulder bumps into the corner of the wall as he bumbles back inside, his eyes excited and bright at the sight of seeing her. Unable to prevent herself from returning the sentiment despite the fact that it hadn’t even been a minute since he left, she grins at the return of his presence. He pouts childishly as he makes a move to rub at his shoulder, and Emma rolls her eyes at him before stretching her arms out towards him.

“How is it that,” Emma begins before letting out an oomph as he obnoxiously plops back onto the bed and wriggles his way to her side. “You’re the clumsiest person I know, yet you’re also the one that everyone says has the most swagger and charm, I don’t get it.”

“I’ll have you know,” Killian responds as he stretches out across her body, his head of tousled raven hair brushing against her chin before she nuzzles into the softness of his hair and presses a kiss to his scalp. “That I’m completely charming. Dashing, even. My inclination to bumping into random objects has zero effect on that, zilch.”

“Yeah, okay,” Emma mutters jokingly as he adjusts his position again, pushing her further into the sturdiness of her bed’s headboard. “Jesus,” she wheezes out as he settles his head against her chest, his legs intertwined with hers. He sighs happily and she ignores the frantic pounding of her head, hoping that he can’t feel or hear the sound of it. “You’re like an oversized baby.”

“Mmm,” he hums as he closes his eyes in contentment. “You’re always so soft and warm.”

“I’m not a teddy bear,” Emma deadpans, grateful for the fact that he isn’t facing her to witness the splotches of rosy pink that make their way up to her cheeks. 

“Maybe,” Killian murmurs before he pops an eye open to glance up at her. Emma quickly holds her phone in front of her face, blocking his view of her as she regrets not turning her room’s fan on while she had the chance to. “I can feel you thinking, love,” he says after a comfortably quiet moment, and she jolts, realizing that she had been staring at the black screen of her phone as the thudding of her heartbeat echoed in her ears.

“Go to sleep, you big baby.” Emma orders gently as she runs her fingers through his hair with one hand, while unlocking her phone to catch up on the rest of the group chat’s conversation with the other.

 

 **Belle:**   _Oh my god_  

 **Belle:**   _Killian’s probably not gonna wanna go to the party, either. He’ll be like, “I’d rather spend my time doing something useful, like hang out with you, Emma, than partying with a bunch of knobs.”_

 **Belle:** _Hehehe_

 **Elsa:** _bye that’s so true_

 **Elsa:**   _don’t forget the “love”, he always holds the “l” sound a little longer when he’s talking to emma_

 **Mulan:**   _omg_

 **Mulan:**   _he is so in love with her, god dammit, my heart_

 

Emma bites back a smile and chokes back a laugh, resisting the urge to shake her head at her friends’ antics. She peers down at Killian before frowning softly as Belle’s earlier responses whirl around in her head. 

“Hey, Killian,”

“Hmm?”

“Were you uninvited to Neal’s party, too?”

He exhales, uncrossing his arms off of his chest before twisting around to face her while laying on his stomach. He rests his head on her thigh, his voice muffled against the fabric of her sweatpants as he replies without hesitancy, “I wasn’t uninvited per say, I just uninvited myself.” He peers up at her through his eyelashes and smiles softly at her confusion. “I didn’t wanna go to that party if you weren’t gonna go. And since you two broke up it was obvious that you weren’t gonna go, and I didn’t wanna leave you all by your lonesome. Besides, someone has to watch over you and make sure that you don’t study yourself to death.”

Emma suppresses a sigh, instead opting for a roll of her eyes. She reaches up to brush some flyaway strands of his hair off of his forehead, but he catches her hand in his and nuzzles the side of his face against it. Her fingers curl involuntarily, and she scratches at his stubble gently as he smiles up at her sweetly.

“Idiot,” she mutters, pulling her hand away as Killian reaches out to grab it again and presses a kiss to her palm. “You could’ve gone and spent time with the rest of the group. Plus, I’m fine. And I’m not going to study myself to death, thank you very much, it’s just that this exam is important and we aren’t doing anything here, anyways. I’m attempting to study while you distract me.”

“You are not fine, Emma Swan.” Killian chastises as he pulls himself up into a sitting position with a grunt. He sits to the side of her with his legs crossed and his gaze steady on hers. “You’re not fine because you haven’t told me the real reason as to why you and Neal broke up, and I know that it’s not just because you and him weren’t right together, although I wholeheartedly agree with that and think that it was about time that you dumped his sorry arse.” He sucks in a breath with a puff of his chest before continuing, “But I trust that you’ll tell me when you’re ready to, whatever it may be. And I know that you’re not fine because you don’t need to study for this exam as much as you are - you’ve had an A in this course since the beginning of this semester, love.”

Emma peers at him sheepishly and he raises his eyebrows at her in amusement as he takes in her slumped form against the headboard of her bed. He bites his lip, more likely than not holding back a retort claiming that he knows he’s right and, much to Emma’s annoyance, he is.

Emma sighs before pushing herself upright again. She opens her mouth to reply with some sort of response, but smothers her lips before she can by pressing his finger to them. She eyes him warily as he shakes his head, saying that it’s okay and quickly reassuring her without letting herself work herself up, and she wants to smack him for being so considerate.

“I can read you like a book, my love,” Killian says happily as he moves away from her and pushes himself off of her bed again. He stands up and rounds the corner of her bed before making her way out of her bedroom. He catches sight of her lingering gaze as she questions where he’s going. With a grin he responds, “I’m just going to make us some hot chocolate and a little snack, love. You haven’t had anything to eat or drink since lunch because of all your studying.” Before he steps out, he pauses and turns over his shoulder to state, “And, before I forget to mention, you’re my favorite story to read.”

He winks and strides out of her room, and Emma groans audibly. He chuckles from wherever he’s at inside her tiny apartment, and she slumps down fully onto her bed before stretching her limbs out, her cell phone still in hand.

“You can’t just say stuff like that, you idiot.” Emma calls out, not bothering to mask her whine.

“Why?” Killian muses loud enough for her to hear. “Do you like it? I’ll say stuff like that more often, if you do.”

Emma grumbles under her breath before biting out, “I hate you.”

Killian simply hums a tune, the clattering and clinking of mugs and dishes quickly drowning out the sound. Reluctantly, Emma unlocks her phone and continues her mission in catching up on the group text’s conversation before they get the chance to start another one.

 

 **Ruby:**   _I KNOW_  

 **Ruby:**   _!!!!!_

 **Ruby:**   _EMMA PLS_

 **Ruby:** _i got them matching hercules costumes, emma’s is megara & killian’s is hercules_

 **Ruby:**   _i dropped them off at emma’s earlier_

 **Ruby:**   _HOW PERFECT IS THAT_

 **Ruby:** _am i a genius or what_

 **Elsa:** _or what_

 **Ruby:**   _bye elsa_

 **Ruby:**   _anyways_

 **Ruby:**   _hold the applause pls_

 **Ruby:** _DO YA’LL GET IT_

 **Ruby:**   _??????/?//?_

 **MM:** _RUBY, STOP SPAMMING_

 **MM:** _AND YES, I GET IT_

 **MM:**   _THAT’S SO CUTE_

 **MM:**   _I WANT THEM TO DRESS UP IN THEM NOW, UGH_

 **Elsa:** _wait, what’s there to get_

 **Elsa:**   _we’re spamming emma so much omg she’s gonna be so annoyed_

 **Belle:**   _Omg_

 **Belle:** _I GET IT!_

 **Belle:** _Because Emma’s in love with Killian but she won’t say that she’s in love with him._

 **Belle:** _Like, the song from the movie that Megara sings._

 **Belle:**   _Brb, I am squealing._

 **Mulan:**   _AHHH, STOP THIS_

 **Mulan:** _THAT’S SO CUTE, RIP ME_

 

“Swan?” Killian calls out a second later.

Emma hums out a distracted response, her eyebrows furrowing as she racks her brain to think of if and when Ruby had dropped of the costumes. Killian shows up in the arch of her doorway then, two bags of costumes in hand.

“Nearly tripped over these,” he states without questioning them. He makes his way into her room, opening her closet door and placing them inside. “They were in the living room. Ruby’s doing, I presume?”

“You presume correctly,” Emma replies with a shake of her head. He turns over his shoulder to give her a smile before making his way back to the kitchen. “She wants us to go to the party as Hercules and Megara.”

“The party’s already underway, though, isn’t it?”

“Mhm, it started half an hour ago.”

“We could still go,” Killian responds playfully. “Arrive fashionably late and all that.”

Emma scoffs, “No thanks, something would have to seriously be wrong if I end up going to that party.”

Without so much of a second thought, Emma continues scrolling through the messages, hoping that they’ll end soon as her eyes begin to ache from focusing on the screen of her phone for so long.

 

 **Mulan:** _ruby isn’t that smart though, she probably came up with it through a different reason entirely_

 **Ruby:**   _WOW_

 **Ruby:** _UR MY GF UR SUPPOSED TO THINK I’M THE SMARTEST MOST GORGEOUS_

 **Mulan:**   _anyways_

 **Ruby:**   _PERSON IN THE WORLD_

 **Elsa:**   _mulan, you deserve all the awards for dealing with this_

 **Ruby:**   _elsa we’re in a fight_

 **Elsa:**   _square up, bitch_

 **Ruby:**   _ok but tbh i didn’t think of that song from the movie_

 **Mulan:** _told you_

 **Ruby:** _i just thought they’d look hot in the costumes_

 **Ruby:** _SHUT UP U ALL LOVE ME_

 **Mulan:**   _we’re breaking up_

 **Elsa:**   _where’s the damn popcorn when you need some_

 **Ruby:**   _i want all of u to fight me_

 **MM:** _Settle down, children_

 **Mulan:**   _why isn’t emma responding, hi hello is she there_

 **Elsa:**   _she’s probably with killian_

 **Belle:**   _Yeah, they’re probably “just hanging out”_

 **Mulan:**   _“just studying”_

 **Ruby:**   _ok TRU_

 **Ruby:**   _they r more coupley than u & i are, mulan_

 **Mulan:**   _what the fuck_

 **Elsa:**   _LOL_

 **MM:**   _David said Killian left around lunch time to go to Emma’s_

 **MM:**   _That’s also around the same time Emma stopped responding to the group texts, so_

 **MM:**   _Ugh, they’re my favorite idiots in love_

 **Ruby:** _LUNCH TIME_

 **Ruby:** _THT WAS SIX HRS AGO WHAHTHAFSDHFG_

 **Ruby:**   _R THEY HAVING A SEX-A-THON_

 **Ruby:**   _if they’re actually studying or something ugly like tht & not making out or having sex i will bash their heads tg_

 **MM:** _Wait, omg, did Emma ever get her lucky necklace back from Neal?_

 

Emma furrows her eyebrows at Mary Margaret’s message, her hand flying to the skin of her chest and her breath stilling in her throat when the cool metal of her anchor pendant is absent against the pads of her fingertips. 

 

 **Elsa:**   _HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED_

 **Mulan:** _??? what necklace???_

 **MM:** _SORRY, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN_

 **Belle:**   _Omg, the necklace Killian got her for her birthday three years ago?_

 **Mulan:** _what is going on_

 **Elsa:** _why does neal have it, what_

 **MM:**   _What happened to using he who must not be named_

 **Elsa:** _DAMMIT_

 **Mulan:** _???_

 **Ruby:** _OMG_

 **Ruby:** _OMGGG_

 **Ruby:**   _THAT RAT_

 **Ruby:** _DIDN’T HE TAKE IT FROM HER WHEN THEY STARTED DATING BC HE WAS LIKE, I DON’T WANT U THINKIN OF OTHER GUYS WHILE WE’RE TG_

 

“Shit,” Emma curses, as she quickly hops out of her bed and makes her way to her vanity table, her eyes frantically searching for the thin and smooth chain of her necklace. She scours through her drawers, coming across every piece of jewelry except the one piece that she cherished the most.

With a groan, she realizes that Neal more than likely had kept it despite the fact that he swore that he gave her all of her stuff back. She bites back a string of expletives, recalling that he more than likely still had it stored away and hidden in the cardboard box atop his bedside table from when he asked her to take it off. Emma reels in her frustration and returns to the messages.

 

 **Mulan:**   _WHAT_

 **Mulan:**   _HE WHAT_

 **Elsa:**   _i didn’t know that, omg what the FUCK_

 **Elsa:**   _i just thought she left it there one day and forgot to get it back_

 **Elsa:**   _i’m gonna fight him_

 **Mulan:** _bye, this is why i hate men_

 **Mulan:** _thank god she dumped his ass_

 **Belle:** _Doesn’t Emma have to have that necklace on to take big exams??_

 **Ruby:** _oh no_

 **Ruby:** _omg_

 **Ruby:**   _this is like a movie what thekfsndjdfkgn gmfuck_

 **Elsa:** _wait but hasn’t emma had exams within the past however many months she & the rat dated for??_

 **Elsa:** _bc if she did then like. is it that important_

 **Elsa:** _plus what if neal’s gotten rid of it or something_

 **Elsa:** _I MEANT HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED_

 **Elsa:**   _bc he’s a rat_

 **MM:** _EMMA NEVER TOOK THAT NECKLACE OFF WHEN KILLIAN GAVE IT TO HER_

 **MM:** _SHE WORE IT ALL OF THE TIME_

 **Mulan:** _omg now i remember_

 **Mulan:** _didn’t killian like, die inside and mope around when she took it off because he thought she hated him all of a sudden_

 **Mulan:** _he’s so cute_

 **Elsa:** _he’s like a puppy_

 **Elsa:**   _a lovesick puppy_

 **Mulan:** _I KNOW, IT’S ADORABLE_

 **Belle:** _Emma hasn’t had like, major final exams since she and you know who started dating._

 **Belle:**   _Isn’t her exam this week?_

 **Belle:** _How’s she gonna get the necklace back in time, omg._

 **Mulan:** _what if we sneak into his room and like, take it back_

 **Mulan:** _while we’re at the party_

 **Ruby:**   _YES_

 **Ruby:**   _YES!!!_

 **Belle:** _Wait, no_

 **Ruby:** _PARTY POOPER_

 **Belle:** _Doesn’t he have a passcode for his room?_

 **Belle:** _Like, one of those electronic pad things that you have to enter a number code for._

 **Ruby:**   _i hate him even more now_

 **MM:** _Are you serious_

 **Elsa:** _what the hell, why_

 **Elsa:** _who would wanna willingly go into his dumpster anyways_

 **Belle:**   _I think Emma’s the only one out of us who knows the password._

 

Emma sets her jaw in determination, suddenly hating Neal even more for his immaturity that he’d display without hesitation throughout their relationship. He would always pester her about her necklace from Killian, knowing how much it meant to her but coming up with every excuse under the sun for her to take it off - it didn’t really suit her, he didn’t like that she was wearing something from a guy who wasn’t him, he hated the feeling of it when it’d brush against his skin while they kissed, he was probably allergic to the metal that it was made out of because it always made him itchy, and on and on. 

She sighs and bites back a groan of frustration, knowing that she’s going to regret this decision but all too aware of the fact that it has to be her who gets her necklace back - the thought of anyone else holding it for her, when it had only ever been her and Killian who had held the necklace in their hands, uneased her. She knew it was probably a petty thought to have but she couldn’t help herself. Even when Neal had asked her to take it off after his persistence had gotten on her last nerve, she was the one to unclasp it from around her neck and place it in his box without letting him question it.

“Killian,” Emma sing-songs, masking her annoyance at the situation at hand as she strides over to her closet and pulls out their costumes. The microwave goes off as he mumbles out a response, and Emma busies herself with reading the rest of the conversation.

 

 **Ruby:**   _WHERE IS SHE_

 **Mulan:** _she can text the code_

 **Mulan:** _and then we can get the necklace back for her_

 **Ruby:**   _NO_

 **Ruby:**   _WE AREN’T GETTING IT BACK FOR HER_

 **Elsa:** _wtf why_

 **Ruby:**   _EMMA HAS TO COME TO THE PARTY_

 **Ruby:**   _SO DOES KILLIAN_

 **Ruby:**   _HE’LL BE HER DATE_

 **Ruby:**   _BUT NOT RLY BC WE’LL SNEAK THEM IN_

 **Ruby:** _IT’LL BE LIKE A SECRET AGENT SPY MOVIE_

 **Ruby:** _& THEN THEY CAN KISS_

 **Ruby:** _LIKE IN THE MOVIES_

 **Ruby:** _!!!!!_

 **Ruby:**   _i am a genius_

 **Mulan:**   _yeah, okay_

 **Mulan:**   _or we could just do it for her_

 **Mulan:**   _isn’t she studying anyways_

 **Elsa:**   _“studying”_

 **Elsa:** _with killian_

 **Elsa:**   _hopefully that means finally kissing bc they need to hurry tf up, dammit_

 **Elsa:**   _also we don’t even know where his room is??_

 **Elsa:** _and he lives with his rat of a father too and their house is like a million stories_

 **MM:** _True, there are too many rooms and I doubt we could find it in time without raising suspicion_

 **Mulan:**   _we could split up_

 **Mulan:**   _each take a floor or something and just search through the rooms_

 **Ruby:** _NO_

 **Ruby:**   _EMMA SHOULD DO IT, PLS EMMA I KNOW UR READING THIS_

 

“Okay,” she hears Killian begin, and she spins around to watch him enter as he balances a plate of two grilled cheese sandwiches and two mugs of hot chocolate. “I come bearing food. This should last us for a bit longer, then we can have a midnight baking session or someth-”

He glances up at her, pausing mid sentence and furrowing his eyebrows at her perplexed expression. He sets the plate and their mugs onto her desk before he studies her.

“What happened?”

Emma sighs as she gestures to their costumes, “Looks like we’re going to that party after all.”

Killian searches her eyes, confusion apparent in his gaze, “Why, what’s wrong?”

“Neal has something of mine,” Emma replies inauspiciously as she fishes her phone out of her back pocket to finally type out her own response to the group. “I need to get it back and I want you to come with me.”

“Ah,” Killian responds as he studies their costumes. He turns to her with a little grin on his lips, “Partners in crime tonight, are we?”

Emma grins, “Always.”

 

 **Belle _:_** _Does Emma even know the code, though_

 **Emma:**   _i know the code_


	2. i won't say i'm in love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so i never expected this lil story to take off as much as it did, & i'm so, so grateful for all of the nice comments that so many of you have been leaving me in my inbox on tumblr & in the comment section here. it means SO much to me, writing this short story has been so much fun - thank you to sarah & sandy for for beta-ing & thank YOU all so much for reading! much love; f

The wig on Emma’s head itches.

“‘Yes, you should wear the wig,’ he said.” Emma grumbles under her breath as she elbows her way past sweaty bodies and tangled limbs at the entrance of Neal’s - or _his father’s_ \- mansion. The music thrums loudly through the otherwise quiet of the evening air, and she resists the urge to rub at her temples as the bass drops and pounds something fierce against the side of her head. “‘You’d look great with auburn hair,’ he said. ‘What’s the point of going to a costume party without wearing the whole costume,’ he said.”

“You do know that I’m right behind you, right?” Killian asks, his voice wary and strained as they narrowly miss getting smacked in the face by flailing hands as a couple stumbles beside them. The couples around them are in their own little worlds - their minds occupied with thoughts of one another and their teeth clashing as they make out with each other - remaining completely oblivious to the rest of the guests around them.

“You were supposed to hear that, you idiot.”

“Oh, come on, love.” Killian replies, trying to lighten the mood as they press their backs against a wall, squeezing through a barrier of people who are too drunk to notice them. “This could be f-”

“If you say that this could be fun and that this is like our own little secret spy agent movie _one more time,_ I will smack you.”

Killian sighs, glancing around inconspicuously as they near the end of the mansion’s corridor. He reaches out just in the knick of time, wrapping his arm around Emma’s waist and holding her to him before she can run straight into a waiter. Killian allows his gaze to roam, catching sight of the numerous waiters wearing vests, bow ties, and masquerade masks.

“This looks like something out of a bad horror movie,” Emma mutters as she follows his gaze. Killian can’t help but let out a laugh at that, muffling his chuckle into her wig as she peers over her shoulder to smile at him. Their gazes lock and she finds herself unable to look away from the bright blue eyes that she had helped line with kohl. Killian takes in her berry-colored lips, which part just as his gaze lands on them, and he resists the urge to lean down to see if the gloss tastes anything like the _Seductive Berry_ that she had read off of the label of the bottle when they had been frantically getting ready earlier.

“I -” Emma manages as she sways further into his body, her eyes tracing the low scoop of his costume’s neckline that reveals a splatter of dark chest hair. Her gaze returns to his and she takes in his wide eyes and the tip of his tongue that’s peeking out from between his lips. “Um, we should find Mulan and Ruby, they said they’ll help us sneak upstairs.”

Killian blinks, her words bringing him out of his daze as he clears his throat gruffly and nods. “Right,” he finally says. His gaze floats back over her head and he scrutinizes the crowded hallways with pursed lips and narrowed eyes. Emma watches with her breath held as a wrinkle forms between his brows, and she wonders what the skin there would feel like, soft and smooth beneath her fingers. “Our first order of business, though,” he says lowly. “Is how we’re going to get through this hallway without getting noticed.”

“Mad dash through the crowd?” Emma supplies without a second thought, not really knowing what else to suggest.

Killian snorts, the sound soft as the side of his face brushes against hers. He stills for a moment, and Emma is just about to turn to him questioningly when he takes her hand in hers, lacing their fingers together and tugging on her hand.

“On the count of three -” Killian says cryptically.

 _“What?”_ Emma whispers frantically. “On the count of three, what -”

“Run!” He says, pulling on her arm as he takes off in front of her. Emma yelps, her free hand going up to keep her wig in place, despite the hundreds of bobby pins she had woven into her scalp, as Killian leads them through a maze of people. She’s breathless by the time he brings them to a stop; her heart is threatening to burst out of her chest from adrenaline before she turns to Killian, finding a childish grin on his face and mischief in his eyes.

“You asshole,” Emma bites out as she slaps a hand across his shoulder. “You” _slap_ “could’ve” _slap_ “gotten” _slap_ “us cau-”

“Caught, I know,” Killian replies in exasperation. “But we didn’t get caught, did we? It was your idea, anyway.”

Killian swipes two shot glasses from a waiter’s tray, handing her one with a grin. Emma huffs in annoyance, biting back a retort as she snatches the glass from his hand before crossing her arms over her chest. She looks around, trying to appear casual as she tries to determine and make sure that the people around them aren’t people who could easily recognize their faces.

“Now we just have to find the girls,” Emma states as she loops her arm through his, leading him toward the tables piled with food near the back. Before they can reach their destination, though, two bodies intercept them and stand in their path.

“Killian?” a familiar voice queries, and while Emma keeps her head low, Killian’s snaps up in attention.

“No,” Killian drawls out slowly, questioningly, as his hands reach up to adjust the headband that he had opted to wear instead of the ridiculous wig that came with his costume. Emma nudges Killian in the ribs with a roll of her eyes, recognizing the person before them as Robin, one of Killian’s friends who had spent the last year abroad in Europe. Robin laughs, shaking his head at Killian before reaching over to clap him on the back.

“I didn’t know you were back,” Killian says, happiness seeping through his tone as he reciprocates Robin’s actions. Emma bites back a grin at Killian’s wide smile and bright eyes, and she stands idly beside Killian as the two friends catch up on what they’ve been up to for the past few months.

“Emma, I almost didn’t recognize you with that wig on,” Robin says pleasantly as he finally greets her with a warm smile. She’d only met Robin a couple of times before he had left to go study abroad, and every time she couldn’t deny the fact that he was, most definitely, a gentlemen, just as Killian had stated all his friends were. “Are you two here together?” Robin asks, his eyes teasing and brimming with happiness, the underlying meaning of his words evident through his tone.

“Yeah,” Killian replies immediately, oblivious to the true meaning behind Robin’s question. “Emma and I -”

“We’re here together,” Emma confirms. “But it’s not like that.”

“Ah,” Robin replies, his expression sobering slightly but the twinkle still evident in his eyes. He opens his mouth to say something else when he’s cut off by a gorgeous woman who steps beside him, drinks in hand as she brushes her shoulder against his.

“Here we are,” the woman says, handing Robin his drink before realizing the presence of Killian and Emma. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you guys there. Hi, I’m Marian.”

“Emma, Killian,” Robin grins as he wraps an arm around Marian’s shoulders. “This is Marian, my fiancée.”

The sip of punch that Killian’s taking from his shot glass sprays out from his mouth, narrowly missing Emma’s face as she openly gapes at Marian and Robin.

“What the bloody _fuck,_ ” Killian sputters as Emma pats his back to prevent him from choking. “Your _what?_ What happened to you saying that there would be no way, and I quote, in bleeding hell, that you’d get married after the disaster that was Reg-”

“Okay,” Emma interjects, finding the situation funny at first before catching sight of Robin and Marian’s uncomfortable and sheepish expressions. “Killian, you’re making a scene.” Emma mutters to him as he straightens, looking apologetic for his outburst.

“Sorry,” Killian mumbles. “I’m happy for you, mate, I really am,” he tells Robin sincerely and, thankfully, Robin nods in understanding. “It’s just that I haven’t heard from you for nearly a year, and then you spring this on me at a party that I wasn’t even invited to -”

“Whoa,” Robin interrupts, holding his palm facing out towards Killian. “What do you mean, ‘that you weren’t invited to’? Did you sneak in here? Are you bloody mad?”

“I’m going to find Ruby and Mulan,” Emma says easily, giving Killian a pointed look. “I’ll find you in a bit and let you two catch up in the meantime.” Emma glances over at Marian, unable to deny sending the brunette a friendly smile in return, “It was so nice to meet you, Marian. Hopefully I can introduce you to the girls and we can all hang out some time? You could tell us about how you and Robin met, because I’m sure that that’s quite the tale.”

Marian grins easily, the pretty brown of her eyes lighting up as she nods, “I would love that.”

Before Emma could turn away from the trio. Killian catches her wrist. She glances up at him in question and he hesitates for a moment before smiling at her, “Don’t get caught, love.”

Emma grins at him, reaching up to pat his cheek reassuringly before handing him her now empty shot glass. “Don’t worry, I’ll come find you the second I know that the coast is clear.” Killian hums in agreement, nuzzling her as she leans into him to press a quick peck to his cheek. She catches Robin and Marian’s knowing grins over Killian’s shoulder, and she quirks an eyebrow at them, as if daring them to say something, before she pulls away.

She brushes the braided auburn hair of her wig over her shoulder as she makes her way across the lounge area, scoping the space out for any signs of her friends. She resists the urge to huff out an aggravated sigh in irritation when nothing but unfamiliar faces stumble past her. Emma subtly fishes out her phone from the cup of her strapless bra, grateful that she had switched it off from its usual vibrate to silent when she had left her apartment. She laughs under her breath at the influx of messages flooding her phone, recalling that the last things she had sent the group chat were selfies that she had taken with Killian after they’d gotten dressed up in their costumes.

 

 **MULAN:** _DAMN, GIRL_

 **RUBY:** _EMMA U LOOK SO HOT WTFSDJFS_

 **BELLE:** _Emma, you look beautiful!_

 **MM:** _MY BABY GIRL’S ALL GROWN UP!_

 **RUBY:** _i did such a gr8 job w the costumes tell killian tht i say ur welcome bitch_

 **ELSA:** _i thought killian was kissing her neck in the first pic i wanted to die_

 **BELLE:** _Omg, I think he is?_

 **RUBY:** _OMSFLKSDFJSHSDFHJAEGYRSGFGNS FUCKSIDGN WHAJKT_

 **MULAN:** _GOD DAMMIT, ELSA_

 **MULAN:** _HERE I WAS_

 **MULAN:** _MINDING MY OWN FUCKING BUSINESS_

 **RUBY:** _she was actually minding my business if ya know what i'm sayin_

**BELLE:** _Oh my god._

**ELSA:** _LMAOOO_

**MM:** _RUBY, I COULD'VE LIVED MY ENTIRE LIFE WITHOUT THAT IMAGE._

**ELSA:** _I'M DYING, SEND HELP_

**MULAN:** _shut the fuck up, ruby_

**MULAN:** _EMMA, CONFIRM OR DENY_

 **MULAN:** _THIS IS IMPORTANT TO MY HEALTH_

 **MULAN:** _GOD DAMMIT, WHAT HAVE I LET THIS HETERO COUPLE DO TO ME_

 **ELSA:** _BYEEE, I AM SO GONE_

 **ELSA:** _i’m here btw, where are the rest of you guys at??_

 **BELLE:** _Elsa, I see you! I love your costume so much._

 **ELSA:** _BELLE, YOUR COSTUME IS SO CUTE_

 **ELSA:** _i’ve always seen you as beauty from beauty & the beast _

**MM:** _I’m in the kitchen with David! Will and Merlin are here, too._

 **MM:** _Cough, cough - Belle._

 **BELLE:** _Elsa, I’m right next to you. You could tell me in person._

 **BELLE:** _STOP, I don’t like Will or Merlin like that._

 **RUBY:** _DONT WRY U WORY WARTDS_

 **RUBY:** _IM PRENITTY SRUE THT WILL WAS MKIGN OUT W SOME BLODNIE_

 **ELSA:** _ruby, how are you drunk already_

 **MULAN:** _DAMMIT RUBY, WHERE DID YOU GO??_

 **MULAN:** _i told you no more shots_

 **BELLE:** _Where are you guys at? We can come meet you!_

 **RUBY:** _MULAAAAN DO U STILL LOVR ME PLSESDE_

 **ELSA:** _found ruby! i’m with her & belle by the pool table _

**MULAN:** _ugh, i’ll meet you guys in a sec_

 **MM:** _Anyone hear from Emma yet?_

 **BELLE:** _Oh, yeah. Are she and Killian here?_

 

Before Emma could text a confirmation to reassure her friends that she and Killian had, in fact, made it to the party, she runs straight into another body. Emma jumps, fumbling for her phone before looking up at the person, an apology on her tongue before it quickly withers away as she recognizes the person before her.

“Emma?” Milah, Killian’s ex-girlfriend, asks, her tone laced with amusement and disbelief. “Wow, I almost didn’t recognize you. You look great!”

“Uh,” Emma stutters, unsure of how to respond. She and Milah had never gotten the chance to click and really become friends - when Milah and Killian dated, he’d occasionally bring her along to outings when Emma’s group of friends and Killian’s group of friends would merge together, but Milah tended to stick to hanging out with Killian and her own friends. With Milah being a few years older than the rest of them, she had graduated a couple of years ago, eventually breaking up with Killian after she had found a job, despite his reassurances that they could work things out. “Thanks,” Emma finally manages, silencing her thoughts as Milah looks at her expectantly. Emma takes in Milah’s pirate garb and smiles, replying genuinely, “So do you!”

“What are you doing here?” Milah asks, cutting to the chase.

“Well, that seems to be the question of the day,” Emma sighs. “Because, come to think of it, I’m not even sure what _I’m_ doing here.”

“Have you and Killian realized your feelings for each other and started dating yet?” Milah inquires curiously, her eyes alight with mischief and her lips curled into a playful smile.

Emma gapes at Milah, much to Milah’s delight, before finally managing a very shocked and confused, “What?”

“Oh, you’re joking,” Milah replies, looking visibly deflated and annoyed. “It’s been, what, more than two years? His feelings for you whilst he and I were dating were so obvious, how in the hell has he _not_ made a move yet? Bloody idiot.”

“Wait, wait,” Emma interrupts with a shake of her head. “What?”

“You seriously can’t tell me that you don’t know,” Milah says, looking utterly perplexed. When Emma shrugs helplessly, Milah sighs, “Lord, help me. You _both_ are daft as hell. Killian’s been in love with you since the beginning of time, Emma.” When Emma opens her mouth to protest, because _that’s_ _ridiculous,_ Milah chastises her before continuing. “It’s one of the reasons we broke up. It was a mutual thing, especially after he confessed his feelings for you. You’re welcome, by the way, although the dumb arse still hasn’t told you when I was expecting him to after I left.”

“I - what?” Emma asks, feeling completely baffled. “He told me that you two broke up because you were graduating, and that he tried to convince you that your relationship could work, but you were starting a new job and everything.”

Milah sighs with a roll of her eyes, as if she had been expecting that response from Emma. Milah studies Emma for a moment, her head tilting to the side curiously before smiling softly. “I heard that you broke up with Neal,” Milah finally says. “All of his minions are saying that it’s the other way around, though - that he broke up with you, but I was with Belle and Merlin when Belle told me.”

“I did,” Emma nods. “Uh, break up with Neal.”

“Because you realized your feelings for Killian,” Milah supplies, her gaze expectant and understanding.

Emma swallows, her tongue feeling heavy in her own mouth as the wheels in her mind come to a halt. “Because I realized my feelings for Killian,” Emma parrots hopelessly.

Milah’s lips are pursed and a furrow appears between her eyebrows as she studies Emma with an intense concentration, and then, much to Emma’s surprise, her lips curve up into a grin. “About damn time,” she cheers gleefully. Noticing Emma’s distressed expression, Milah sighs before taking Emma’s hand in hers. The gesture is comforting and Emma has to school her features to mask her surprise. “Alright, so what are you _really_ doing here? I’m assuming it has something to do with Killian? Because you’re smarter than you think you are, so there has to be a good story behind why you’re here, at your ex-boyfriend’s place that he _still_ lives in with his father, after he was immature enough to uninvite you through Facebook.”

At the coaxing look in her eyes tinged with a shade of reassurance, Emma launches into her story (that she had yet to tell Killian) of how and why she _really_ broke up with Neal; the necklace that Killian had gotten her for her birthday all those years ago had been taken away from her after Neal assumed that she was cheating on him, and Emma had failed to pay attention to the warning bells going off in her head when he had asked if he could hold onto it.

Now that they are broken up, and now that she is painfully, achingly, and _stupidly_ hyperaware of her feelings for Killian, she can’t help but yearn and wonder what it would feel like to be with him. But first - as Emma had decided after her and Neal’s imminent breakup - she would need to get her necklace back.

It was a piece of Killian that he himself had gifted to her, with such tenderness and affection, and she had mindlessly given that piece away to prove her worth to someone who didn’t even care, when she already had _that_ someone - that person who loved her, inside and out, so wholeheartedly and so completely. She’s never noticed, until now, that she’s had him all along. She already has _that guy_ that every cheesy romance movie talks about - that guy who’s been looking at her as if she herself hangs up the stars and the moon every night.

“So, did yer lady ever get the sacred necklace of love back?” A voice queries, startling Killian out of his concentrated stupor as he nurses a drink. Killian turns to face Will, sipping his beer slowly   while surveying his surroundings. “More importantly,” Will continues before frowning slightly as he wiggles around atop the hard-seated bar stool beside Killian. “Have ya told her that ya love her? Because, to be frank, mate, I’m fuckin’ tired of sitting around and watching the both of ya tiptoe around each other.”

Killian rolls his eyes, the conversation all too familiar as Will gazes at him expectantly. “We’ve been over this, Will. I’m waiting for her to make the first move, she just broke up with Neal and I don’t wanna scare her off.”

“Scare her off, my arse,” Will scoffs, his expression twisting into one of complete disbelief. “She already looks at you as if you walk into the room holding the bleeding sun, you both are dense as hell.”

“She’s my best friend,” Killian shrugs helplessly. “I don’t wanna screw things up with her. She’s too important to me.”

“I’ll bash yer faces together myself if I ‘av to, mate,” Will gripes.

“No, no, no, _no,_ ” Ruby sing-songs, sliding up against the bar and trying to squeeze herself between Killian and Will. “You don’t _bash_ their faces together, you heathen,” Ruby slurs, her finger pointing accusingly to Will before she boops him on the nose, earning herself an affronted look. “You _smoosh_ them together - softly, gently, carefully… like you’re smooshing together two of the chocolate parts of an Oreo together, y’know? Do they smoosh those together? To make the cream fit all perfectly inside? D’ya know what I’m sayin’?”

“No,” Killian and Will reply simultaneously, holding back peels of laughter at Ruby’s drunken state.

Ruby pouts, “But if there isn’t tongue involved within the first five seconds of the smooshy kiss, _then_ you bash their faces together, ‘kay?”

Killian and Will nod, suppressing their grins before Ruby decides that their signs of affirmation are not the right answers. She narrows her heavily-lined eyes at them, her butterfly lashes fluttering with her every move, “No, you have to say okay. Like, actually say it, because this is so important.”

“Life or death important?” Will teases, and Ruby gasps violently.

 _“Yes,”_ she cries, and Will turns his head towards Killian with a humorously startled look on his face. “Oh my god, my heart actually might die if you don’t kiss her, Killian.”

With that, Ruby wraps either arm around Killian and Will, her head alternating its resting place on their shoulders as she stumbles through her own pathetic rendition of _Kiss The Girl_ , from The Little Mermaid. Mulan makes her way through the crowd of sweaty bodies that are bopping up and down to the beat of the music, and she runs up to them, the cape of her warrior costume flying behind her with her quick pace. Her eyebrows furrow and she sighs wearily once she hears Ruby’s out of tune singing and jumbled words.

“I thought Emma had you stationed as look out,” Killian accuses.  

He watches as Mulan’s eyes go wide momentarily before she shakes her head in what looks like reassurement. “I left Elsa and Belle by the stairs, don’t worry.”

Killian frowns, his stomach twisting slightly before his eyes land on two familiar faces who are definitely not where Mulan had just said they were supposed to be.

“Are you sure you don’t mean you left them dancing in the crowd?” Killian grouches, earning an expression of confusion and utter agitation from Mulan. “Because they’re _right_ behind you.”

Mulan’s head whips around her shoulder as she takes in the scene behind them. Ruby throws herself into Mulan’s arms then, and Mulan curses, bringing her attention back to her very drunk girlfriend. “Dammit. Okay, it’s fine, it’s not like Nea-”

“Oh my god, it’s _Neal,_ ” Ruby hisses dramatically, and Killian has never been more grateful for the pounding bass of the music than he is at this moment, as the man in question breezes past their ducked heads and shrinking bodies before heading straight for his own posse. “I mean, _he who must not be named._ Oops, don’t tell Elsa.”

“Right. Where’s Emma?” Killian asks as soon as Neal disappears into the crowd once again. He hops off of his stool and leaves his half-empty drink behind as he rubs his cold hands together.

Mulan shrugs, “Last I saw her was, like, five minutes ago maybe? She was with Milah by the sunroom, I think.”

“Wha - Milah? I haven’t seen her in what, two years? What in the bloody hell is she doing here?” Killian flounders.

“Why is everything you’re saying phrased as a question?” Ruby asks boldly. “Are you always so confused? Do you ever shut up? Will you and Emma ever confess your feelings for each other? Will you finally kiss Emma? Or will we all be dead by the time you do?”

Will snorts, “Let the mean drunk phase begin.”

“I liked her better when she was all touchy and emotional,” Killian grumbles, loud enough for only Will to hear as Mulan raises her eyebrows at their low tones. “Okay, I’m going to find Emma.”

Ruby huffs, muttering something akin to a _finally_ as Mulan firmly wraps an arm around her shoulders. Mulan nods, her lips moving as she says something, but her words get lost in the sweep of the music and rambunctious laughter around them. The volume turns up from somewhere and the entire room bursts into cheers at the song that fills the room.

Killian heaves a breath, slinking his way through throngs of bodies that jump and dance around him. He keeps his head low and his gaze focused, making sure that he doesn’t get noticed as he recognizes the faces of several of Neal’s friends. He peers in through each room as he saunters past them, preparing himself to see things that may scar him, before he finally catches sight of Emma’s magenta-colored dress.

The side of her profile is to him and he stops for a moment to admire the way she looks when she has her head tipped back in laughter. He’s looked at her plenty of times, not believing the way she effortlessly lights up a room with her mere presence. Her laughter and her smile, however, are a whole other story, and her voice is music to his ears as he picks up his pace and nears her.

“Killian,” Milah’s voice startles, her eyes going wide as she notices him. Emma jolts before she turns to face him. A smile lights up her face as he sidles up beside her, and he resists the urge to grin shamelessly in return.

“Milah,” Killian replies with a nod, trying to sound as nonchalant and neutral as possible, despite the panic that’s clawing its way up his chest. He wonders what they could’ve possibly been talking about - what did Milah say to make Emma laugh so brilliantly?

“Relax,” Emma intones, sensing his distress, as she nudges his side. “We were being nice, I promise.”

“Mhm,” Milah hums, a teasing glint in her eyes, and at the sight of the smirks that the two women exchange, Killian decides that what they were talking about couldn’t possibly be worse than what he’s thinking in his head.

“I - okay, I’m not even gonna ask.” Killian sighs. “Anyways, time to get the show on the road. Neal’s down the hall mingling. It won’t be long ‘till he makes his way upstairs where the rest of the party is.”

Emma groans, placing her empty glass on a silver tray as a masked waiter breezes past. She tugs on the braid of her wig, adjusting it into place before shooting Milah an apologetic look.

Milah lifts her hands up, a cheshire grin on her face, “No worries, you two go do your secret mission thing that I have absolutely no idea about.”

Killian raises his eyebrows at them as Emma stares Milah down with a look of exasperation. Milah laughs into her drink, the sound coming out muffled while Emma shakes her head. Killian watches the exchange in complete befuddlement, and he can’t seem to wrap his head around how quickly they’ve become friends.

“I’ll be right back,” Emma says, lifting the ends of her dress off of the ground as she spins on her heel. “I think my eyeliner got smudged, I’m gonna go fix it.”

Before he could protest that her eyeliner, was in fact, not smudged, and before he could think of what to say to his ex-girlfriend whom he hadn’t spoken to in nearly two years, Milah punches him on his forearm.

“What the fu-”

“Seriously, Killian Jones?” Milah admonishes. “I break up with you, let you go so that you can pursue Emma, and two years later you’re still in the same place that I left you? Are you kidding me?”

“Say it louder, why don’t you,” Killian grouses as he rubs his arm.

“What you two have right now is great, yes, it makes the rest of us feel envious,” Milah rants. “But what you could have if you two simply confessed how stupidly in love you are with each other - that is something for the books, Killian. Do you really wanna wait around and miss that?”

Killian studies Milah, finding nothing but genuine sincerity and the ever-so familiar glint of annoyance that would always dance in her eyes in response to something he’d say.

“What is with everyone today?” Killian complains. “I’m working on it, I just -”

“If you say that you just don’t wanna mess up what you have with her, I won’t hesitate to punch you again.”

“Christ, did you and Emma become best friends over the past fifteen minutes? You two even talk alike.”

“You have no idea what you’re doing here, do you?” Milah asks bluntly, changing the topic and throwing him completely off guard.

“What?”

“What are you doing here?” Milah repeats slowly, as if she’s suddenly talking to a child. “Why did you sneak into this party, that Emma’s ex is throwing, after you were uninvited?”

“I -” Killian stutters, unable to look her in the eyes as she grins knowingly. “I’m here for Emma.”

“I know you are, you idiot,” Milah sighs. Killian frowns. “She cares about you a lot, more than you think she does, okay? And you’re like a lovesick puppy following her around, it’s like something out of those cheesy romance movies. So please, for the love of all things holy, tell her.”

Emma is beside him once again before he can respond, and his entire world tips off its axis as she easily slides her hand into his, lacing their fingers together. He catches Emma and Milah saying their goodbye’s to each other, and Milah is smacking a kiss to his cheek before he gets the chance to tell her goodbye himself.

“Next time don’t let it be two years till I hear from you, yeah?” Milah teases, and Killian nods, the weight diminishing off of his shoulders as he watches Milah and Emma smile at each other. With a final nod, Emma begins to make her way out of the crowded room, his hand firmly clasped in hers before Milah calls after them, “And you better invite me to the wedding!”

“What’d she say?” Emma nearly yells as they find themselves trapped in yet another crowd of people.

“Nothing,” Killian yells in response. He follows Emma willingly, swinging around the other people who are stumbling through the narrow halls, and side-stepping people sprawled out across the carpeted floors. They scurry up the winding staircase, clinging to the railing as they avoid spilled cups of beer and leftover bowls of snacks. When they make it upstairs, the cool and quiet atmosphere of the dim hallways startle them in greeting.

They pause at the foot of the staircase, their eyes flitting over the numerous doors that line either side of the hallway. Arched windows decorate the blank walls between rooms, and they swing open like doors against the fierce October winds of the night.  

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Killian whispers as his wandering eyes land on a small group of people mingling outside a door that’s been left ajar. He peers suspiciously over at a couple trying to poke their heads through the door, and his stomach jolts uncomfortably as the the group breaks out into a round of giddy laughter.

“No,” Emma responds, and Killian turns to her in vexation, only to find her studying the doors that line the left side of the hallways. “Come on.”

He has no choice but to follow, and he swallows a groan of protest as she clasps his hand in hers again, squeezing reassuringly when he hesitates. He follows her lead and they make their way down the hallway casually, avoiding unnecessary attention as everyone around them remains in their own little bubbles. They find themselves at a dead end, the hallway dividing into two separate hallways, one going left and the other right.

“This is some next level haunted house shit,” Killian murmurs, earning a snort of laughter out of Emma. He grins at her, following closely behind her and swinging their arms to lighten the mood as she takes a left. The lights of the hallway are dim and Killian would admire the similarities between the manor and an elegant, high-class hotel if the bulbs of the lamps didn’t flicker at that very moment.

“Relax,” Emma hushes him as the increasing volume of music fills the air. “There’s another room right down there that has a bunch of pool tables and stuff. There’s a whole other party of people in there, probably.”

“The main thing I’m concerned with,” Killian shoots back. “Is where the bloody hell this wanker’s room is so that we can get whatever you need, and then get the fuck out of here. I can safely say that I much rather prefer our plans of lounging around and me watching you study yourself to death instead of this sneaky shit we’re trying to pull off.”

 _“T_ _his sneaky shit,”_ Emma mimics in his accent and everything, earning a wordless protest from Killian. He turns to her, finding her studying an electronic keypad that had been hidden somewhere in a corner of the wall. He gapes at her as she pokes at a button, causing a soft twittering sound to go off. “Would work if you didn’t stop worrying all of the damn time.”

“I worry,” Killian hisses, capturing her hand in his before she can pointlessly tap at another button. “Because you’re standing here poking at these buttons that could cause an alarm to go off, and then we’ll _actually_ be picked out of this godawful party.”

Emma shoots him a look of annoyance, shaking her wrist out from his grasp as she peers at the keypad. “I’m trying to see if this thing’s fingerprint activated or not. Luckily, I don’t think these bastards are rich enough for that kinda security system, yet.” She punches in a four-digit code without hesitancy, and Killian watches the blinking orange light with baited breath before it stutters to green.

He breathes out a sigh of relief as Emma shoots him a grin and wiggles her eyebrows at him victoriously. She turns the knob of the door slowly, wincing slightly as the hinges squeak in protest. The door swings open, revealing a spacious and dark room. Emma turns back to him, her lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

“You keep watch,” she says, and Killian opens his mouth to vehemently protest when she shushes him. “I’m gonna leave the door open because no way am I gonna turn the lights on in this dump. So just knock on the wall if you see someone coming. Seriously, knock. Everyone up here is a part of his tacky posse, and someone’s going to recognize us if we let ourselves be seen.”

“Fine,” Killian groans, pushing on her shoulder a little bit in encouragement. She disappears into the room and he peers after her, catching the shadow of her figure before she blends into the darkness.

Inside, Emma searches frantically for that damn cardboard box, and she rushes over to it as soon as she sees it sitting atop an antique dresser. She sticks her hand into the box without hesitancy, scrunching her nose up in both confusion and wonder as her fingertips graze over questionable textures and outlines of objects.

“Come on, come on, come on,” she chants to herself, willing for a delicate chain with an anchor pendant to appear. Her fingers brush over a smooth and cold metal, and she grasps it with her thumb and index finger, pulling it out of the box with a rush and laughing to herself as she clasps her necklace in her hand. “Thank fucking god,” she breathes out in relief.

“Whatever the hell we came here for better be _so_ fucking important, I cannot believe I let you rope me into this mess.” she hears Killian grouse from his post outside the door. Emma strides back over to him, shutting the door in place before slipping out of the darkness and into the light while grinning up at him happily.

“It is,” she says breathlessly, holding up her necklace - the necklace that he had given her - with excitement coursing through her veins.

Killian gawks at her, his gaze flitting from the necklace in her hands, his eyes flashing with recognition, before they travel to her eyes that are bright, shining, and filled with affection.

“What the hell,” he finally voices, much to Emma’s amusement. “I thought you got rid of this thing when you started dating Neal?”

“What happened to referring to him as ‘the wanker of the century’?” Emma teases, before she drinks in the genuine confusion in his eyes. “I did get rid of it,” she says, and she winces outwardly at the casualness of her tone and the hint of discomfort that flashes across Killian’s eyes. “But it’s not like that. I didn’t get rid of it on purpose, I wish I hadn’t gotten rid of it at all to begin with but the truth is… the truth is that Neal made me,” Emma rushes out in explanation. Killian’s eyes widen before they narrow as he contemplates her words.

“When he and I started dating, he, uh - he noticed that I would wear your necklace all the time, and one day he got annoyed - like, _really_ annoyed - because he was saying all this shit about how if I loved him then I would be fine with taking the necklace off and letting him hold onto it and blah, blah, blah.”

Emma swallows, the words feeling thick on her tongue as she steps closer to Killian. His eyes search hers and the middle of his forehead wrinkles with worry as she blinks back tears, getting choked up by her own emotions.

“I gave up this necklace to prove to him that I was worth it,” Emma confesses, goosebumps breaking out across her bare arms at the wrongness of it all. “And I know it’s just a necklace, God, this is probably the most absurd thing I’ve ever made you do and I’m sorry, it’s just - this necklace feels like a piece of you that you gave to me, and the fact that I gave it away without a second thought makes me so angry. I’m so angry at myself because I didn’t realize, until he and I broke up, that I didn’t have to prove anything to him. I didn’t have to prove my love, or my worth, or my time -”

“Emma, I -” Killian attempts to intervene as his thumbs brush against the tear tracks on her cheeks. His hands cups her face and he opens his mouth again to speak, to reassure her and let her know that it’s okay, but she shakes her head in protest.

“Let me finish,” Emma hiccups with a teary smile, nuzzling into his touch once he nods. “I realized that I didn’t have to prove anything to him, because I’ve had you. You’re my best friend, my partner in crime, and my soulmate. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted and more, and I didn’t realize that I’ve already had you until it occurred to me that I could lose you, and giving up this necklace helped me see that.”

 _“Emma,”_ Killian says reverently as he leans into her before resting their foreheads together.

“I love you, Killian Jones,” Emma says, her breath washing over his lips tantalizingly as she peers up at him through her eyelashes. “I’ve loved you alway-”

“Bloody hell, woman,” he breathes out with a disbelieving laugh. He plucks the necklace from the palm of her hand, running his fingers over the smooth chain before undoing the clasp. “I love you, too. Now let me put this on you so I can kiss you before you drop it and lose it again.”

“Okay,” Emma stutters out helplessly. She breathes in deeply as his hand skims against the warm skin of her neck before the cool chain of the necklace swings into place against her chest. He clasps the necklace together, and his hand skims the side of her body before his fingers splay across her hip.

She wraps her arms around his neck, stretching on her tiptoes and nudging their noses together as impatience and a fierce sense of longing churn from within her stomach. His lips hover over hers and she breathes him in, holding back a whine as Killian slots his lips against her cupid’s bow instead.

“Killian,” Emma breathes, swaying closer to him as his grip around her tightens.

“Mmm?” He hums, backing her up against the corner of the wall before pressing their hips together lightly. Emma watches as his eyelids flutter open, his gaze dazed and unfocused before it steadies on her. She smiles at him, her fingers sifting through his hair before they curl snugly around the nape of his neck.

She inches forward, brushing their lips together softly as Killian’s breath hitches and an electric thrill shoots up her spine. Already, with the barest of contacts and the softest of touches, her heart feels like it’s doing somersaults, and then he finally, finally, _finally_ presses his lips against hers.

Her lips capture his bottom lip as his hand reaches up to brush through her hair, causing her wig to slip off, and she sighs against his mouth contentedly. They sway into the kiss, lips moving and bodies alight as their nerves sizzle under every touch. Killian pulls away, breathless, and she chases after his lips with her own, pressing them together again and again, nipping at his lips with her teeth gently.

“Emma,” Killian groans. Emma trails her kisses against his cheek before pulling away, gasping in a breath while his lips venture down her neck. His tongue licks against her skin, and the only thing Emma can think coherently is that she’s grateful for the wall behind her as her knees buckle under his touch. His lips find the skin around the anchor pendant resting against her chest, setting her already flushed skin ablaze.

“Fuck,” she exhales as she hitches a leg up and around his waist, urging him closer and closer. The slit of her dress falls open against her thigh, revealing her bare leg and giving him the perfect opportunity to run his hand over the newly exposed skin. “Oh, fuck you,” she manages, nuzzling her face into his neck and pressing kisses there as he laughs into her hair.

“Why’d you stop?” Emma groans in frustration as Killian pauses, holding her to his chest as he turns over his shoulder.

“Shh,” he hushes, pressing a kiss to her lips before pulling away just as quickly, much to her disappointment, “Someone’s coming.”

“Well then,” Emma drawls, grinning slowly as she runs her hands through his hair, causing him to grunt as the sound of footsteps approaching their direction increases. “Let’s give them a show, shall we?”

She presses her lips against his insistently before giving him a chance to respond, their kiss searing and eager as her tongue brushes against his. The sound of their heavy breathing is loud and clear in their ears, but the sound of faint whispering grows nearer and nearer with every twist of her head as Emma indulges in the taste and feel of Killian.

“Fucking finally,” a familiar voice exclaims, startling Emma and Killian out of their embrace as they stumble over each other.

“Fuck, shit, motherfu-” Emma curses, willing her racing heart to slow down before pausing as she looks up to find Belle, standing across from them with Emma’s wig in hand, and a permanent smile plastered against her red lips.

“As much as all three of us would love for this to continue,” Belle says, hiding a smirk as Killian snorts out a laugh while Emma’s cheeks flush from embarrassment. “We have to go - one of Neal’s cronies recognized you two while you were on your way up and Neal just found out.”

“Dammit,” Emma curses, taking Killian’s hand in hers as he wordlessly offers it, before the three of them make a mad dash through the hallways and barely manage not to trip as they scurry quickly down the winding staircase. They can vaguely make out the shouts of various people behind them, and they meet the rest of their friends by the front door as they all rush outside, laughter erupting from their lips as soon as they manage to catch their breaths.

The sprinklers turn on and they’re laughing so hard that their stomachs ache as they dance around in their figurative rain - an elaborate show put on just for them, by them.

Later, after they’ve both helped each other strip out of their wet costumes, after they’ve caught up on making up for five years of lost kisses and love bites, after they’re boneless and sated and completely unaware of the time, Killian crawls up against her, leaving a lingering kiss against the mole on her chest and admiring the way his necklace looks between her breasts.

“Mmm,” he hums against her lips as she pulls him to her. “Say it, please.”

“No,” Emma replies with a muffled laugh as she skims kisses along his jaw.

Killian burrows his head into the side of her neck, running his hands along the naked skin of her torso lightly as she squirms beneath his chest. He hides his grin as she pinches his side, her laughter light and happy as he skims his fingers against her ticklish spots.

“I won’t say I’m in love,” Emma responds stubbornly, her breaths coming out in pants as he blinks up at her lazily.

“Shame, that,” Killian tuts. “Because I love you.”

“Idiot,” Emma grins, running a hand through his hair before kissing him soundly. “I love you, too.”

Much, _much_ later, after the tastes of each other are etched into their memory, after they’ve kissed each other within the past few hours more times than they can count, after they’ve loved to their hearts’ content, Emma allows herself to check her text messages.

Killian’s arm is heavy around her waist and his head is half buried in her pillow against her naked back as she reaches over for her phone, and she blinks blearily at the absurd number of messages on her phone.

 

 **BELLE:** _GUYS._

 **BELLE:** _GUYS, IT FINALLY HAPPENED._

 **ELSA:** _YOU HAD SEX???_

 **BELLE:** _NO, WHAT? NO!_

 **MULAN:** _WHAT HAPPENED_

 **MULAN:** _THIS BETTER BE GOOD_

 **MM:** _WHY ARE WE YELLING, IS EVERYTHING OKAY?_

 **BELLE:** _YES, EVERYTHING IS PERFECT._

 **ELSA:** _ok what the fuck you totally did have sex_

 **BELLE:** _I didn’t, I promise._

 **BELLE:** _BUT EMMA AND KILLIAN PROBABLY DID!_

 **ELSA:** _WHATKJSDF_

 **MULAN:** _EXPLAIN_

 **MM:** _Dammit, I owe David $20 now._

 **BELLE:** _I saw them kissing._

 **BELLE:** _Okay, they were making out._

 **BELLE:** _They were upstairs when I found them and had to interrupt their little love fest because Neal was about to throw us out himself._

 **ELSA:** _HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED_

 **MULAN:** _YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS_

 **MULAN:** _I’M SCREMAINIGNE BYE_

 **MULAN:** THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE

 **MM:** _Where’s Ruby, omg._

 **ELSA:** _she’s gonna have a conniption_

 **MULAN:** _she doesn’t even know what that means, it’s ok_

 **BELLE:** _IT WAS BEAUTIFUL._

 **MULAN:** _i can’t believe i’m saying this_

 **MULAN:** _but i am so jealous of you, belle_

 **ELSA:** _same, i kinda wanna cry kinda wanna die_

 **MM:** _Ruby’s gonna lose it when she finds out._

 **MULAN:** _WHERE IS EMMA I NEED DETAILS_

 **ELSA:** _MULAN, LMAO_

 **MULAN:** _LISTNE,,_

 **MULAN:** _I HAVE WAITED SO LONG FOR THIS MOMENT_

 **MULAN:** _I’M ABOUT TO PUKE RAINBOWS AND COTTON CANDY_

 **RUBY:** _WHT HRJTHGFD FUCK_

 **RUBY:** _OHTDHMY OGF_

 **RUBY:** _HOOOOOOO YM GOD_

 **ELSA:** _there it is_

 **RUBY:** _MUALN I FUCKIGN HATE U WE R IN THE SAM E DAMN BED AND U DIDNT WAKE ME UP_

 **RUBY:** _WE R BREAKIGN UP I HATE SFKJSFLRLEITSF_

 **RUBY:** _EMMA WAKE THE FUCK UP IDC IF U JSUT HAD THE BEST SEX OF UR LIFE I NEED TO KNO EYRTHRING_

 **BELLE:** _They probably need all the sleep they can get after the night they had._

 **MM:** _I’m so happy, nothing will ever beat this moment._

 **MULAN:** _STFU RUBY_

 **MULAN:** _IT’S YOUR FAULT FOR GETTING SHIT ASS DRUNK LAST NIGHT_

 **ELSA:** _not to be dramatic or anything but the next time we see emma & killian they’re gonna finally be together & i’m gonna pass the fuck out _

**RUBY:** _IM CRYIGN SO HARD RN_

 **RUBY:** _IM SO USED TO GIVING & NOW I GET OT RECEIVE _

**MULAN:** _ok but did she tell him she loves him_

 **MM:** _Or did he tell her?!_

 **BELLE:** _I don’t know but I’m dying to know now!_

 **RUBY:** _EMMA_

 **RUBY:** _EMMA DID U SAY IT_

 

Emma grins to herself before responding.

 

 **EMMA:** _i said it_

**Author's Note:**

> HI, THANKS FOR READING!! pls leave any comments or kudos if you'd like.
> 
> much love; f


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